Bluffton's hard-working catcher Cloe Thomas lost the ball on a throw from the field as a Beaufort player slides into home during the Tuesday night game of the Dixie Softball Ponytails Subdistrict All Stars Tournament hosted at Oscar Frazier Fields.

Savannah

Story and photos by Gwyneth J. Saunders

Bluffton Today

After taking a 17-6 drubbing on Tuesday from Beaufort in the second round of the Dixie Softball Ponytail Subdistrict All Stars tournament, Bluffton's 11- and 12-year-old girls team bounced back Thursday at Oscar J. Frazier Park and beat Walterboro 11-5 in a doubleheader delayed from Wednesday by torrential downpours.

"The girls hit some awesome balls and there were some players that did an awesome job," said coach Lee White.

He said Linleigh Viens cleared the bases with a triple, Michaela Manley and Kendra Kuckerbrod were among those who contributed with RBIs and Lauren Cooley pitched the whole six innings, shutting down the visitors from the north.

"They were pounding the ball. They were playing hot," White said. "All of the senior girls played above and beyond, stealing bases, sliding into the bases. Linleigh hit in the third inning over their heads, into the outfield and to the fence."

White said the attitudes of the girls was a complete turnaround from two nights earlier.

"They went from zero to ecstatic," he said. "They were going to have a shot at playing Beaufort for the championship and chance to move on to the next round."

And then one of Beaufort's coaches reminded the Walterboro coach, White said, "of a pitcher rule in the convoluted Dixie Ponytail rules, and told Walterboro he had 15 minutes to protest the game."

"I apparently left Lauren in one batter too many on Tuesday night," White said. "It's something to do with not being able to use pitchers for more than three innings in consecutive games."

After being informed of the rule, Walterboro's coach recalled his departing players, Bluffton was forced to forfeit the game and Beaufort - who once again beat Walterboro as they had the first night of the tournament - was one step closer to the Dixie Ponytails world series in Louisiana at the end of July.

"They went from zero to ecstatic to minus 10," White said. "I'd pitched Lauren this game because I knew if we wanted to have a chance at state, we had to win this game. I never connected the games as being consecutive since we were unable to play Wednesday night. We had a team this year that would have gone far into the state tournament."

Half of the girls will be unable to come back because of the age limit, White said. "But we'll be all right. We have good players staying and good ones coming up. We'll get another shot."

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